Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised investors he will devote more time to the maker of electric cars and trucks after profits tumbled 71% in the first quarter, a period when the billionaire split time between Tesla and working with President Donald Trump on government on cost-cutting measures.
Musk plans to spend only one or two days a week in Washington, D.C., he told investors during Tesla's earnings call late Tuesday, for the remainder of Trump's term as long as the "president would like me to do so or as long as it's useful." Musk plans to allocate more time to Tesla to ensure the electric automaker's future is bright, he said on the call. The billionaire addressed what he called "blowback," or criticism, for the time he's spent working at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to rein in government spending.
When it comes to Tesla, he said the company is on track for its pilot launch of its so-called Robotaxi in Austin, Texas, by June, with the automaker beginning a wide deployment of robots across its factories this year.
"We are ridiculously integrated and that is the best way we can protect ourselves against supply chain reductions," Musk said.
But on the high-profile topic of his work with the federal government that he says will reduce spending, he said, "the large slug of work to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get its house in order is mostly done and I think starting next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly.
"I'll have to continue to do it for the remainder of the president's term to make sure the waste and fraud we stop doesn't come roaring back," he added. "I'll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it's useful."
Tesla's net income fell 71% in the first three months of the year to $409 million compared with $1.39 billion from the first quarter during the prior year. The automaker's sales also dipped by 9% to $19.3 billion in the first quarter.
Like other companies, Austin, Texas-based Tesla expects uncertainty tied to tariffs to impact its business. The "rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers," the company said in a Tuesday investor presentation with the "changing political sentiment" to possibly "have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near term."
Tesla plans to increase localization to limit supply chain risk associated with geopolitical uncertainty, Musk told investors, adding that he's personally shared his opinion with Trump to limit tariffs. But he's just one of many advisers to the U.S. leader, Musk said.
The electric automaker is one of the nation's most vertically integrated vehicle manufacturers, Musk said. Tesla's lithium refining and cathode production plants are on track to start production this year, and are expected to onshore production of critical battery materials to the United States, according to the investor presentation.